Appeals court revives suit in Confederate license plate case

By Dane Schiller |
July 15, 2014
| Updated: July 15, 2014 1:27pm

This image provided by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles shows the design of a proposed Sons of Confederate Veterans license plate. Eleven years ago, when the NAACP stepped up a campaign to remove the Confederate battle flag from statehouses and other government buildings across the South, it found an opponent in then Lt. Gov. Rick Perry. Perry argued that states should honor their history and decide on appropriate displays. A related issue may rise this fall when Texas decides whether to allow specialty license plates featuring the Confederate flag.

Photo By Ralph Barrera/The Associated Press

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee holds photographs on Nov. 10, 2011, in Austin. Texas drivers won't be able to put Confederate license plates on their vehicles after a state board unanimously rejected the proposed design.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles governing board votes down a controversial proposal for a specialty license plate displaying the Confederate battle flag Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011 in Austin, Texas. Texas drivers won't be able to put Confederate license plates on their vehicles after a state board unanimously rejected the proposed design Thursday.

The nonprofit organization describes itself as working to preserve the memory and reputation of soldiers who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

The Department of Motor Vehicles shot down the request, on the grounds such a license plate would be offensive to some members of the public.

The decision has prompted disappointment from at least one state lawmaker.

"The battle flag is a symbol of Ku Klux Klan repression and violence, not heritage," Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston), said in a statement. "After all, the battle flag never flew over the Texas Capitol and is not one of the Six Flags of Texas. It was instead adopted by the Klan and segregationists as their symbol of hate and opposition to civil rights and equality in the South. This is not a symbol that is worthy of the state's honor."

Earlier in the day, Ellis asked Abbott to take action.

"I urge General Abbott to immediately appeal this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court so that Texas is not put in the position of issuing state-sanctioned license plates glorifying oppression and bigotry," Ellis said.